Over the 65 years that the modern State of
Israel has been in existence, the sharp minds of its scientists, doctors and
entrepreneurs have been responsible for developing thousands of cutting-edge
innovations that are still making a huge impact on our lives.They include the solar water heater,
amniocentesis testing, drip irrigation, desalination, Intel computer chips,
instant messaging, the flash memory drive and a whole lot more.Latest news shows that this creativity
continues.

The first three recent medical items are
intended to reduce surgical cutting to a minimum.The area of medicine known as cell therapy has already begun to
regenerate organs and repair diseases without traditional surgical
methods.There are 18 Israeli companies
developing or marketing cell-based treatment products - and they all attended
this week’s Israstem
Conference in Ramat Gan.Next,
Israeli start-up Lev-El Diagnostics has teamed up with Sheba Medical Center
researchers to create a mathematical algorithm
that could save lives.Normally
patients with heart disease have to wear heart monitors for 24 - 48 hours
before the results can be analyzed. The algorithm can diagnose problems in just
one hour.Finally, Israeli start-up
Oxitone has developed a blood-oxygen monitor
that can be worn on the wrist by those “at risk” to warn of any sudden
deterioration in their condition.

When there is no option other than to
perform major surgical operations, Israeli help is of course available.Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital
were extremely grateful to the Israelis
that helped set-up their disaster team two years ago.Following another terrorist incident, Asael
Lubotzsky knew exactly what he was cut out to do. When he finally recovered
from the horrendous injuries caused by a Hezbollah rocket attack in 2006, he
became an Israeli doctor.

Most of the beneficial results of medical
science come at the end of years of cutting-edge research and development.
Israel’s BiolineRX announced positive results from the Phase IIa clinical trial
of BL-7040, an oral treatment
for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease affect as many as 1.4 million
individuals in the US alone.Sometimes
a sudden breakthrough occurs, as happened when researchers at Tel Aviv
University gave high-frequency “bursts” of electrical stimulation to rats and
produced the
same destructive plaques as found in the brains of Alzheimer’s
patients.

The Israelis working at the cutting-edge of
Israeli medical science are the product of the Jewish State’s top Universities
and scientific institutions.46 per
cent of Israel’s population has
a college degree - only Canada has more.So it was gratifying to read a rare positive article in the New
York Times about Israel’s
Technion Institute.It also
featured one of the 20 percent of students at the Technion who represent
Israel’s 20 percent Arab minority.Students at nearby Haifa
University are busy promoting the State.A Muslim Bedouin girl, several Druze, a Pole and 26 Israeli Jews
are training to represent Israel as unofficial ambassadors.Muslim Ayat Rahal said, “I want to show a
true picture of Israel. It’s not all protests.”And dozens of Haifa’s 800 overseas students from 40 countries
wanted to let the world know that they share the desires and ambitions of local
Israelis.

Finally, thanks to all these innovations,
Israel’s $91 billion annual exports make Israel the 38th largest
exporter in the world, although it has only the 97th largest population
in the world.And these exports are
likely to improve further following the new Free
Trade Agreement between Israel and India. This will expand the market
for Israel’s cutting-edge healthcare, agriculture, irrigation, renewable
energy, aviation, IT and water management products.

As we leave behind the celebrations of
Israel’s independence, it is important not only to look back at what Israel has
achieved in the past, but also at what Israel is doing right now!Both indicators show that the Jewish State
is leading mankind into a future that is vastly different both medically and
technically from our current environment.

The world we are beginning to see is one
where humans no
longer suffer from dementia.The research by Professor Michal Schwartz and her team at the Weizmann
Institute highlights the changes in the brains of the elderly that prevent
immune cells traveling to repair brain trauma. It opens up the possibility of
new treatments to prevent brain degeneration.Similarly, Parkinson’s
will be cured – maybe using the sugar substitute mannitol that
researchers from Tel Aviv University found to protect the brain against the
disease.

The
“Big C” will one day be a thing of the past,
thanks to specialists like Israel’s Professor Alexander Levitzki of the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem.The American
Association for Cancer Research has just awarded him its 2013 Award for
Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research. Other problems with
the immune system will be resolved.Professor Rifaat Safadi’s team from Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem
has already identified the way the system’s Neuroliglin 4 protein can either
fight fatty
liver disease or exacerbate it.

Whilst on the subject of medicine, Israel’s
Teva is the world’s largest producer of generic medications.In the US, one
in six prescriptions are for Teva products. CEO Jeremy Levin recently
stated, "We are an Israeli company, and we will remain an Israeli company.
At our Ashdod plant, whilst people (in Gaza) fire rockets, we make medicines.”

In the new golden age, no one would dream
of accusing Israel of being an apartheid state.Everyone will know how Israel’s hospitals employ Arab
Muslims alongside Jews at all staff levels.For example, 57-year-old cardiologist Dr. Aziz Darawshe from the
Arab village of Iksal, near Nazareth is the new
director of the emergency department at Hadassah University Medical
Center in Jerusalem, and chairman of the Israel Society for Urgent
Medicine.Everyone will hear that
Israeli hospitals treat thousands of Palestinian Arab children every year.Like siblings Ahmad and
Hadil Hamdan from Gaza, who both suffer from chronic kidney disease and
receive dialysis treatment at the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel.Now just sit back and enjoy some beautiful
images of Israel’s diverse population and cultures.

Israel is the world’s third most
innovative country, according to a Massachusetts Institute of
Technology survey of 61 experts from 20 countries.Israel’s agricultural technology is starting to eliminate hunger
in Africa, India and China.The latest
innovations include a low-cost robot
milking machine from Israeli start-up MiRobot, which is marketed as
“the greatest thing to happen in dairy farming in 100 years”.MiRobot is embarking on a road show of the
US with four other Israeli
agri-tech start-ups including SolChip (solar powered livestock tracking
sensors) and EdenShield (natural herbs to prevent insect infestation of
plants).

Storage of electricity will soon become far
more efficient than at present.Two
Israeli companies are at the forefront of this technology.First, Tel Aviv’s Enstorage has produced the
first ever Hydrogen-Bromine
flow battery to be connected to the national grid. It is the cheapest,
smallest and most powerful flow battery on the market.The second company, Phinergy, impressed US
President Obama with its evolutionary aluminum-air
battery.It can power an
electric vehicle for up to 1,000 miles (1600 km) before needing a recharge –
three times longer than any competitor.

There will be no drought or water shortages
in tomorrow’s world.Israel - the
world’s most efficient user of water - invested NIS 3 billion in water
infrastructures in 2012.Israel is
marketing its desalination
and recycling facilities across the world.Israel will also be an economic powerhouse.Already its currency is the strongest in the
world.Of the 31 currencies monitored
by Bloomberg, Israel’s
shekel had the best performance in the first three months of 2013.Reasons include Israel's stable growth and
anticipation of the favorable economic impact of new natural gas flowing from
the Tamar field.

But financial strength and technological
advances alone are not enough.“What
the world needs now is love” and the composer of that song, Burt
Bacharach, is coming to the Jewish State in July to perform some of his
70 top 40 hits.We all should “Say a
little prayer” and maybe we will receive a few “Magic Moments” to inspire us
towards a better future.Meanwhile our
homegrown vocal group “The Fountainheads” has used the translation of the title
of our National Anthem (Hatikvah) to energetically express this “Hope”.

Finally, to celebrate Israel’s 65th
Independence Day, here is Israel21c’s list of the
top 65 solutions that Israel has provided to some of the world’s most
pressing problems.Plus 65 things we
love about Israel in 65 seconds.See
how many you agree with.

On Tuesday Israelis will be celebrating the
65th anniversary of Israel’s independence.It is usual for people to be honored with presents on their birthday,
but the Jewish philosophy is that it is better to give than to receive.Here, therefore, are some of the Jewish
State’s most recent contributions to the world.

Israel constantly bestows gifts to medical
science. Researchers at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have just discovered
the mechanisms that the body uses to shut down the immune system.This knowledge may soon help
patients with cancer and HIV.Nearby, at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center, scientists have found
the genetic
cause of PCD (primary ciliary dyskinesia), responsible for lung
infections, sinusitis, frequent ear infections and fertility problems. In half
of these cases, the heart, liver, stomach and spleen grow on the wrong side of
the body.Early diagnosis can reduce
risks of subsequent damage.Hadassah is
also helping
establish a new medical center in Varna, Bulgaria for bone
marrow transplantation.

Israeli renewable energy technology could
soon be used to fuel celebrations everywhere.Ben Gurion University and the University of Michigan have just announced
that they are to forge a research partnership on developing
renewable technologies.The
program will research advanced vehicle fuels, solar energy and thermoelectric
materials, which convert heat to electricity.And a simple innovation by Sergey Biryukov at Ben Gurion University’s
National Solar Energy Center could generate
even more power from solar panels.To remove dust from frequent storms Sergey came up with the idea of
using an electrical field to “charge” the dust particles and repel them from
the panels.It looks just like someone
blowing out birthday candles!

Many countries are already receiving
benefit from Israeli clean technology.One example is Israel’s Ormat Industries, which transforms energy from
underground heat sources into electrical power.Ormat has designed a 330-megawatt geothermal
power plant in Northern Sumatra and will supply it with two geothermal
energy converters.About 2000 miles to
the North East, China’s Guangdong Province Water Company is currently
installing 75 water
analyzing and control units supplied by Israel’s Blue I Water
Technologies.

Two companies with close ties to Israel
have also been celebrating recently.Computer giant IBM
Israel has enjoyed 40 years at its Haifa center where it developed the
RS/6000 computer, ultrasound equipment and a HIV database.Meanwhile, can you imagine how many “happy
birthday” greetings have been sent via mobile phones in the 40 years since
Martin Cooper of Motorola made the very first cell phone call in 1973?Much of that technology was developed at Motorola’s
development center in Haifa.

If you enjoy live rock music, then the Rock
Independence Party on April 15 will be right up your street. The Rishon
LeZion Park Amphitheater will be the venue to some of Israel’s biggest names in
rock including Aviv Geffen, Barry Sacharov, Balkan Beat Box, Hadag Nahash,
Mashina and Elisha Banai.Alternatively
you could simply relax on Tuesday with a bottle one of Israel’s award-winning
wines.I imagine that their taste is
far superior to those that were produced in the 1500-year-old
wine press discovered during the construction of a wedding hall near
Hamei Yoav, east of Ashkelon in southern Israel.

If you live overseas, why not make a plan
to visit Israel during its 66th year?Don’t make excuses. Follow the example of 104-year-old
Eleanor Hall from Richboro, Pennsylvania who is making her first
pilgrimage to the Holy Land.We can
even provide luxury
accommodation for your dog.KelevLand will pamper your pooch with the best possible treatment – from
mineral water on tap, to tummy rubs and acupuncture.It also includes Israel’s DogTV television channel of course.

Finally, anyone suggesting that Israel
doesn’t have sufficient international friends to celebrate its birthday with
should read the new extensive
report by Bar-Ilan Professor Efraim Inbar. It states that Israel’s
international status has improved thanks to its social, economic,
technological, financial, and diplomatic achievements. With its new energy
reserves, water and agricultural technologies, things can only get better.